Bernstein Upgrades Four Key Bitcoin Miners to ‘Outperform’

Bitcoin Bitcoin Mining
Investment firm Bernstein upgrades four Bitcoin miners (Riot Platforms, CleanSpark, Iris Energy, Core Scientific) to "outperform," highlighting their expansion, efficiency, and AI strategies.
Crypto Journalist
Crypto Journalist
Veronika Rinecker
Author Categories
Cryptonews Reports
About Author

Veronika Rinecker is based in Germany and studied international journalism and media management. She specializes in reporting on topics such as politics and regulation, energy, blockchain, and...

Last updated: 
Why Trust Cryptonews
Cryptonews has covered the cryptocurrency industry topics since 2017, aiming to provide informative insights to our readers. Our journalists and analysts have extensive experience in market analysis and blockchain technologies. We strive to maintain high editorial standards, focusing on factual accuracy and balanced reporting across all areas - from cryptocurrencies and blockchain projects to industry events, products, and technological developments. Our ongoing presence in the industry reflects our commitment to delivering relevant information in the evolving world of digital assets. Read more about Cryptonews

Investment firm Bernstein has made a bullish call on the Bitcoin mining sector, issuing “outperform” ratings for four publicly traded companies: Riot Platforms, CleanSpark, IREN (formerly known as Iris Energy), and Core Scientific.

These ratings indicate that Bernstein expects these stocks to outperform the broader market.

Meanwhile, according to the Decrypt article from Aug. 16, MARA (formerly known as Marathon Digital Holdings) received a “market-perform” rating, suggesting Bernstein anticipates performance in line with the market average.

Expansion and Efficiency Take Center Stage

Bernstein’s evaluation was based on five key factors: Bitcoin (BTC) production, operational efficiency, energy consumption, cost, and artificial intelligence (AI) strategy.

Bernstein highlighted Riot Platforms’ operational power capacity and ambitious expansion plans. Despite a broader industry slowdown in Bitcoin mining production, Riot reported strong Q2 2024 results, generating $70 million in revenue. The company expanded its operations with a new Texas facility, acquired Block Mining for $92.5 million, and increased its Bitfarms stake to 18.9%.

CleanSpark garnered praise for its top-notch energy efficiency and high realized hash rate, a key measure of actual mining performance.

Beyond Bitcoin

Bernstein expressed optimism regarding IREN’s expansion plans, including its two mega sites in Texas. Beyond Bitcoin mining, the company’s potential in the AI sector is also promising, according to analysts, as evidenced by its partnership with Morgan Stanley to explore AI opportunities.

Core Scientific also impressed analysts with its cost-efficiency and pioneering AI strategy. The report lauded the company’s “best in class” hashcost, attributed to “low power cost, uptime and controlled SG&A costs” (SG&A stands for Selling, General & Administrative expenses). Beyond cost efficiency, Core Scientific emerged as “a clear leader on AI strategy,” according to Bernstein.

Positive Outlook for Bitcoin Mining

While MARA received a “market-perform” rating, Bernstein acknowledged its strengths and the fact that the company has improved its uptime efficiency by moving to a self-mining model. Analysts also expect the firm to fully transition to its own mining sites to reduce reliance on hosting partners.

In terms of overall mining trends, the report predicts mining margins to improve in Q4 2024, potentially fueled by a potential Bitcoin bull run driven by institutional investment inflows into spot Bitcoin exchange traded funds (ETFs).

According to analysts, mining costs are expected to decline as companies like MARA deploy the latest generation of rigs for expansion, leading to improved efficiencies.

Logo

Why Trust Cryptonews

In the Article
Bitcoin
BTC
$104,167
1.17 %
2M+
Active Monthly Users Around the World
250+
Guides and Reviews Articles
8
Years on the Market
70
International Team Authors
editors
+ 66 More

Best Crypto ICOs

Discover trending tokens still in presale — early-stage picks with potential

Explore Our Tools

Smart tools made for everyday crypto users

Market Overview

  • 7d
  • 1m
  • 1y
Market Cap
$3,512,155,955,144
13.29
Trending Crypto

More Articles

Crypto Regulation News
Is South Korea’s Digital Asset Committee About to Redefine Crypto Regulation?
Hassan Shittu
Hassan Shittu
2025-05-13 22:20:55
Press Releases
Don’t Just Survive Altcoin Season – Dominate It With Best Wallet’s Smart Tracking Tools
2025-05-13 19:20:12
Crypto News in numbers
editors
Authors List + 66 More
2M+
Active Monthly Users Around the World
250+
Guides and Reviews Articles
8
Years on the Market
70
International Team Authors